Indian markets closed on account of Mahavir Jayanti, Asian shares rise

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India were shut on Monday on account of Mahavir Jayanti, an important religious festival in Jainism that celebrates the birth of Lord Mahavir.

Jain temples, however, remained closed amid the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government to arrest the rise of coronavirus infections.

Wholesale commodity markets including metal and bullion were also shut. There was no trading activity in the forex and commodity futures markets as well.

On April 3, the BSE S & P Sensex closed 674 points or 2.39 per cent down at 27,591 while the Nifty 50 slipped by 170 points or 2.06 per cent at 8,084.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets rose with South Korea's Kospi moving up by 1.4 per cent and Japan's Nikkei by 0.2 per cent. China markets were closed for a public holiday.

US stock futures jumped more than 1.5 per cent after President Donald Trump expressed hope the country was seeing a levelling off of the coronavirus crisis.